Mirror Cycle

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 2

It took a bit of time, but I had managed to get changed into
something that fit slightly better on my current form.
Still, I looked like I always did, T-shirt and jeans. What
can I say, I have no imagination.

By now both Oria and Ken had left. Ken took my pendent, as
he wanted to give it a once over before I put it back on.
Oria, on the other hand, was a bit more insistent on staying
with me. It took a while to get her going; I had other
things to do, and so did she. I left her with a promise that
I would be home in a few hours.

Rhea had wanted to stretch her new legs, so we had all moved
into the lobby of the labs. The two older Varii had left,
satisfied with the way things had gone. H'Naala was checking
Rhea once more, to insure that everything she had done
worked. She had already done the same with me, and things in
my mind we're as normal as they ever were.

N'Taki was standing to the side, looking very relieved that
things had turned out so well. If something had gone wrong,
it would have been on his head. Something no one wanted to
see happen.

I smiled as I stepped out of N'Taki's office, noticing that
Ravindar had been guarding the door for me. Typical, not
that I minded. I was starting to find that, I would feel
uncomfortable without him around. Strange feeling.

"Everything intact?" I asked, walking over to Rhea, bending
down as I did so to fluff her ears.

"She's fine," H'Naala explained, "Even better than I
expected. Better than you, but your mixed bodies might have
something to do with that."

I grinned. "Makes sense to me. I'm surprised you were even
able to find my mind in that mess. It's hard enough for me
to deal with. I can't imagine what it would be like for an
outsider."

She chuckled as she rose to her feet. "There were no great
surprises in your mind. True it's a bit twisted around
itself, but I suspect for a Natural, that's normal."

My response was a smirk, which was echoed in both my ears
and tail. "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment." I petted
Rhea's fur as I said this, and she was purring in return.

H'Naala smiled, then yawned loudly, her mouth opening wider
than I thought was possible. "I think I'm going to go home
and sleep for a month. This has really worn me out."

I nodded, pulling my backpack off my shoulders. "I
understand, we'll get out of your hair in a moment." I dug
into the pack, quickly I found and remove Rhea's collar. It
was the same one that was used on me the day the curse first
struck.

She knew the procedure for this, lifting her head, and
letting me strap it around her neck. I didn't bother with a
leash, she wouldn't be wandering off without me. It was more
of a formality than anything else, there was no law
requiring her to be leashed, or restrained, but she did have
to wear a collar.

"Come on, guys," I said, pulling my backpack on as I opened
the door. "Let's get going, we have other things to do. And
thanks, you two, if you need anything, anything at all, give
me a call, I'll see what I can do."

H'Naala gave me a tired smile, as she leaned against N'Taki,
who had his arm wrapped around her waist. "I'll keep that in
mind," he said, smiling as well.

I smiled back, stepping out into the hallway, Rhea at one
side, and Ravindar right behind me. Closing the door, I felt
Ravindar's paw fall onto my shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
he asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"You might be surprised," I told him, "I feel really good.
Everything seems right, but, I also feel kind of alone." I
reached down to pet Rhea as we started to walk along the
hall. "After all this time, it feels strange to be alone in
my mind again. I'm going to miss having her with me all the
time. Not that there's anything wrong with being separate,
it's just that..." I was at a loss for words, I couldn't
really say how I was feeling right now.

"I understand" he said, walking next to me for once, and not
behind. "She is something like a sister to you, isn't she?"

I chuckled. "More than something. If she was to use the gem,
we would be identical, except for the eyes." Her eyes were
gray, just like in my mind, and when she was in control of
my body. No one had planned that, it just happened on it's
own.

Ravindar gave a sage like nod as we continued to walk. The
three of us side by side. My hand was still in the back of
Rhea's neck, petting her scruff gently. She was watching
everything closely, taking it all in. There was nothing that
she hadn't seen before, but she was herself now, and even
the same things were new again.

I was going to take a fold to our next destination, but Rhea
wanted to walk instead. This struck me as a good idea, once
I had time to think about it. We didn't know if she was a
Natural or not, and I had forgotten to bring any temps for
her. So walking was the best choice. Anyway, our first stop
was only a few miles from the Hall.

We walked up the ramp, out of the Hall, and into the streets
of Corbin, the city that surrounded the Marble Hall. Turning
north we headed towards the Zoo. No, I wasn't going to put
Rhea there, Doctor Videa, my vet, worked there. She was
going to implant a tracker in Rhea, so we would be able to
keep tabs on her in the event that something happened to
her.

I, myself, have one, a strange thing for a person to have
implanted. It was done as a precaution to make sure that if
Rhea ever took control of the body again, Oria would always
be able to find me. Now it was no longer necessary, so I
could have it removed, once I had time to not be able to sit
down for a few days.

The sunlight felt good on my fur, which prompted me to start
purring. I had to admit it, I liked this body, even if it
was so off from who and what I really am, or what I used to
want to be. To some, the change of both species and gender
would be hard to overcome. For me it was simply something
else for me to learn to enjoy.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Ravindar
asked.

I smiled, twitching an ear. "Well, first to see Doctor
Videa, then after that to get Rhea tested to see if my
ability as a Natural copied over."

He looked slightly surprised. "I thought it was impossible
to 'make' a Natural. You could only be born that way."

"Right," I answered, scratching the back of my neck. "But
the process that was used to make Rhea's body isn't a simple
cloning, or genetic manipulation. That, and with how strange
my luck is at times, it's just the kind of thing that would
happen." I shrugged,  "That's the way my family is."

He nodded his head, his eyes almost focusing on me as we
continued to walk. "Then after that, do you have any more
places you wish to go?"

'Someplace where I can run!' Rhea chipped in from my side.

I laughed, scratching the back of her ears, my claws out
slightly. "Well, Rhea wants to go running, and I think I'll
join her. I know this nice little place out where we used to
live. Hell, you could use the gem and join us. I would love
to see what you would look like as a full tiger."

"Remember, you're married," he cautioned, but with a
pleasant smile. "But I will consider it, I still need to
keep an eye on you. One question first, how did she tell you
what she wanted?"

"Telepathically," I answered.

He coughed, "You're a Natural, how precisely is that
possible?"

I shrugged, flicking my ears as I did so. "I'm not sure. We
could always talk before. And the Unicorn and I could talk
in the same fashion." He gave me a slightly strange look.
"Never mind about all that. I guess it's something us smart
animals can do."

Rhea nodded her head in agreement, skipping a few paces
forward of us as we turned a corner.

"You're not exactly an animal Fox," Ravindar told me, a bit
of a worried look on his face as we followed Rhea around the
corner.

"I'm not so sure anymore." I answered him, putting my paws
in my pockets. "I mean, on one hand, I spend most of my time
as a human, on the other, that's not the form I need to be
in. Since the curse, my human form has been something forced
onto the lioness form. That's why I have claws. The gem just
changes that to morphic. The thing is, for the past year, to
the day, I've been a lioness that can become a human, but
not really human."

He placed a paw on my shoulder. "Don't be too hard on
yourself. Once Ken does break your curse, you'll be back to
normal."

I laughed. "This is normal to me now! And if he does, what
do I lose? I'll be back to a standard human, and you know
I'm not like that anymore, and I like being Rhea, or rather
a lioness, that is. Both morphic and full. It feels good to
have more than one body, in a strange kind of way."

"Well..." he paused, grabbing my shoulder a bit harder,
pulling us both to a standstill. We were just in front of an
alley, and he was glancing into it out of the corner of his
eye.

Rhea had stopped a few feet away. The fur on the back of her
neck was brisling. Something was wrong here, and I was the
only one who couldn't see it.

Then in one move, Ravindar shoved me back into the alley,
following right behind, blocking my body with his. Behind us
I heard the familiar sound of bullets striking the wall
behind where we stood.

He shoved me back against the wall, arm over my chest,
holding tightly. He himself already had a gun out, holding
it at the ready. He was bleeding from a shallow wound along
his arm. I couldn't see Rhea, she must still have been out
in the street. I hoped she was O.K.

I followed suit, pulling my own gun out, and loading a round
into the chamber. "What are we looking at?" I asked him in a
hushed voice.

He glanced back at me, looking slightly surprised to find
that I was armed. I guess he forgot that I carried a pair of
guns almost all the time, or maybe he just assumed that, as
a female, I was unarmed. Not that it mattered right now.

"One gunman," he answered, pulling out some sort of
reflective stick from his pocket. He held it loosely in his
paw, leaning forward slightly. Reaching out of the alley, he
spun it around in a circle twice, then pulled it back. The
sound of two more bullets striking the wall followed,
sending a fine mist of dust into the air.

"Sniper position, three buildings over, fourth floor, two
windows from the left," he explained, putting his device
away. "There's a second man at the end of the street, not
armed, but holding something gun-like, but it is not a
weapon. I was unable to get a good enough look to see
exactly what it is." He sounded almost apologetic.

I was amazed that he could see all that in that short of a
time. Then again, this is what he was trained for, and as a
Crystal Master, he had to excel at his job.

"Rhea?" I prompted, shucking my pack.

"She's fine," he answered, "holding herself to the ground,
and being ignored."

I sighed, "Good, nice to know they're trying to keep from
killing anyone but me."

He glanced over his shoulder to me. "That is what's
confusing; the first shot was aimed to kill me, not you."

"Well, that's odd, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "The other man, if he has a tranquilizer
gun, then they're more likely trying to capture you alive."

I sighed, shaking my head slightly. "Ok, so they want you
dead and me in their possession. This is not a good position
to be in." I glanced down the alley way. "And this is a dead
end, perfect, not even a door we can open."

"They must have been following us to find the proper
location," he commented, leaning forward quickly to take a
shot, pulling back right away. More shots smacked into the
wall, one hit the far side of the alley. "Damn, this is a
terrible angle to shoot at. I need more than a fraction of a
second to hit him."

I nodded, trying to relax, and to take in my situation. The
alley was one I would expect to see anywhere, just wide
enough for a car, with a few doors along its length, none
with handles. It ended up against a brick wall after twenty
feet. No place to go, not even a fold.

There was something else, though. There were a set of stairs
leading down to a basement entrance of one of the buildings.
It looked like it had seen better days, but it gave me an
idea.

"What do you think of those steps over there? Would they be
good cover?"

He hummed, looking at me, then at where I was pointing.
"Yes," he answered after a second's thought. "The angle is
wrong to shoot into it. If you were down at the bottom, you
should be fine."

"Good, I'm going to give you a distraction," I told him with
a smile, right before I burst into a hard run. Falling to
the ground at full speed, I rolled under the handrail, and
into the stairwell. The landing hurt, smacking both my arms
and my shins on the stone steps. There was pain, but not
enough to pay attention to right then.

"Damn it, Fox," Ravindar said. I waved my paw at him over
the lip of the stairwell, keeping myself as low as I could.
No shots came in my direction, that was good.

Moving back farther, I rose up slightly out of the
stairwell. I could just see the sniper resting where
Ravindar said he would be. He wasn't shooting, just seemed
to be holding back for the next chance.

Resting my wrists on the lip of the stairwell, I took
careful aim. There was no way I could hit him at this
distance, I wasn't that good a shot. Instead, I just wanted
his attention.

I fired three rounds, ducking back down just in time to hear
a few shots hit the stone above my head. I wasn't sure how
many there were, but it ended when I heard Ravindar fire.

"You can come out now," he called a few seconds later.

I peeked over the edge of the stairwell. Ravindar was
standing just outside of the alley, gun still in hand, but
smiling.

Climbing out, I walked over to where he stood, to see why he
was smiling. It didn't take long for me to see what exactly
it was. The other would-be kidnapper, the one with the
tranquilizer gun, was currently pinned down under Rhea, who
had her jaws wrapped around his neck.

I smiled. "Nice to see we still have someone we can talk
to," I commented as I started to walk towards them. Ravindar
followed just behind me, gun out, and held prone.

As I got closer, I could see that this capture hadn't been
peaceful. Whoever our attacker was, he had been slashed down
the side of his face by Rhea, and was bleeding from his
shoulder, where there was an evident bite mark. Some of his
shirt, and a bit of flesh, was missing.

I grinned, leaning down once I was next to them, my left arm
over Rhea's back, my right still holding my gun. "Hello," I
said with a wicked smile.

He started to struggle more, looking panicked.

"I wouldn't do that, unless you want to find out how easy it
is to breath when your own blood is flooding down into your
lungs, hum?"

He froze, his eyes pleading with me. He really didn't want
to try and learn how to do that.

"Let up a bit, Rhea," I said, glancing up to Ravindar, his
gun was aimed right at our little friend's head. Good. "Now,
you're going to answer some questions, or she's going to eat
you, and she knows how to do it, and keep you alive while
she does it. Understand."

"Yes," he managed to choke out, his eyes locked on Rhea's
head.

"Good," I drew the word out so it took a few seconds to say.
"Who do you work for?"

He gulped, a look of panic crossing his face. I could
imagine that he wasn't supposed to tell me this if I did
capture him.

I tapped Rhea's shoulder, and she started to apply a bit
more pressure.

"Cain!" he yelled out, eyes wide in panic. He seemed to be
waiting for something to happen in response to this
admission.

I was worried as well, I knew I was going to face off with
Cain at some point in time, but I had hoped to have longer
to prepare for it.

"What does he want you to do?" I asked, leaning a bit closer
to him.

"To kidnap you," he gasped out, eyes unfocused slightly.

I placed my paw on his shoulder, still holding the gun as I
did so. "Why?" I demanded.

He gave me a dazed look. "To get your husband to come to
him..." the last word trailed off, his eyes rolling back
into his head.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked Ravindar, looking up
to him, slightly panicked.

"Cain may have done something to keep him from talking. A
mental command or an implant. It shut down his mind instead
of allowing him to talk. It might have been fear of Rhea
that kept him with us as long as it did."

"Shit!" I said, rising to my feet. "Cain thought I was
Oriana. Shit, he's after her, not me."

"It would give him a strategic advantage over you," Ravindar
commented.

"How do we get anything else out of him?" I asked, returning
my gun back to its holster.

He shook his head. "I can think of a few ways, but if Cain
could knock him out like this, anything we can do would be
useless."

I shook my head. "Unacceptable," I told him, glancing around
the street. It was still empty, no police at all. They
should have been here by now. I worried about that as well.

"Do you know any other way?" he asked, sounding snide.

"Yes," I said, the answer coming to me. "I know of another
way we can get the information out of him."

He gave me a worried looked. "How, he's dying as we speak,
he won't last more than a few minutes."

I grinned. "That's all we need. Grab the body, we have to go
see a vampire!"

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is copyright 2000 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.